Beijing:
Former Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe, whose prolonged absence from public view sparked speculation about his fate, has resurfaced, suggesting he was politically safe, a media report said on Wednesday.
A floral tribute from Wei at the funeral of a senior Chinese lawmaker on Monday suggests the 70-year-old general could be politically safe, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
However, there is no word on the fate of Wei's successor General Li Shangfu, who disappeared from the public and was later dismissed.
Former Foreign Minister Qin Gang also suffered a similar fate. Both had not yet been seen in public.
Wei's name was spotted on a wreath at the funeral of Oyunqemag, 81, who was vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2008 to 2013.
In a prime-time news bulletin on state broadcaster CCTV, Wei's tribute was visible among those of other former state councilors at the side of the funeral hall, with wreaths from President Xi Jinping and other sitting officials in the center.
Wei, who led the PLA Rocket Force, the new name for China's missile force since its creation on December 31, 2015, as part of Xi's military overhaul, disappeared from the public eye after his successor Li was abruptly dismissed as Minister of Defence. years, without explanation.
Li, who like Wei spent most of his career in the PLA's missile wing, was also stripped of his rank as a state councilor and removed from the highest decision-making body: the Central Military Commission (CMC).
Wei's indirect return indicates he may have escaped the purge of the top ranks of the People's Liberation Army, including commanders of the Missile Force — which controls China's nuclear arsenal — that followed Li's disgrace, the Post report said.
Direct and indirect actions in official contexts are important indicators of political fate in China's opaque system, where little information is revealed.
Wei's absence from an official National Day reception last year was the first sign that he may be in trouble. He was also not included on a list of about 130 retired senior officials who received New Year's greetings from the Communist Party leadership in February.
In March this year, General He Weidong, the second-ranking vice chairman of the CMC, in a surprising remark, criticized the PLA's much-discussed “real combat-oriented exercises” to win wars as “fake combat capabilities” and called for a crackdown performance.
General He called for a crackdown on 'fake combat capabilities' in the military during the current annual sessions of parliament.
His comments came against the backdrop of President Xi Jinping's recent purges, the dismissal of Defense Minister General Li Shangfu last year, followed by the removal of another nine senior generals, many from the core of the Rocket Force.
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